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Lancashire BME Pact News
Newsletter 7
Zoeyah Shaheen's international venture
BASIS Funding
Grass Roots Funding Opportunity
Health Seminar Programme
Lancashire Officer wins Asian Achievers Award
Navratri at the GHS
Big Lottery Funding Bid
New Board Member
New Members
OBE for Prof. Romesh Gupta
Volunteer Mentors Wanted
Opening of Awaz Pendle Community Radio, ICT and Media
Centre
Issue 6 of the BME Pact Newsletter Now Available
Publicly Funded Support Projects
Train-the-Trainer Awards Presentation
Training Available for Women Leaders
Public Recruitment Event Targets BME Communities
NW E-Net Joins BME Pact
New Board Members Appointed at AGM
Explore Lancashire!
GHS Centre - Health Mela
New Offices for BME Pact
Seasonal Celebrations
Community Cohesion Event - Gujarat Muslim Welfare
Society
New Member in Preston
2006 Health Mela
'Change Up' Programme
New Women's Group in Blackburn
Preston Hobbies Fair at the GHS
New Member in Pendle
"Joining the Dots"
Cultural Celebration
Adult Learning Seminars
Edition 7 of the BME Pact newsletter is now available to download. Please click here to view or download a copy in PDF format. (640k).
17 year old student Zoeyah Shaheen has been offered a potentially life-changing
opportunity. In June this year, she has been invited to attend the Global
Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in Washington DC and New York. Structured
in the same way as the United Nations, the GYLC is an independent organisation
which is designed to educate, inspire and motivate selected individuals
from more than 100 countries all over the world.
While there, Zoeyah will work alongside some of the world’s top business leaders, policy officials, lobbyists, journalists, diplomats and academics. As one of just 40 UK delegates, she will represent Britain and perform speeches and debates on behalf of her country.
In order to make this dream a reality, she has been busy carrying out a range of sponsored activities and attending business network events in order to raise around £4,000 to cover transport, living and accommodation costs. She also sought the support of the community and local businesses, and held a fundraising dinner and networking event on 30th March at the award-winning Shahi Qila restaurant in Blackburn. The event included a three course dinner and afforded an opportunity for community groups, businesses, local authorities and individuals to come together and make new contacts.
More details about Zoeyah's journey can be found at www.zoeyahshaheen.com.
The Lancashire BME Pact congratulates Zoeyah on her achievements to date and wishes her great success in the coming months.
BASIS Funding Success - a Message from the Chair
Dear Members,
You will be aware that the Lancashire BME Pact submitted an application for BASIS funding from the Big Lottery Fund at the end of August 2008. We have also kept you informed of progress through our Members meeting and the Board meeting minutes circulated to you. I am now pleased to inform you that we have been successful in our application for the funding and will be launching our ‘Successful Foundations’ programme over the coming months with a target start date of 1st June 2009.
The Successful Foundation programme will include the following:
- Support to our members on fundraising, marketing and communications
- One to one support on finance and governance
- Capacity building programmes
- Funds to buy expertise and services from our members
I hope you will be delighted and share in the success which will benefit all our members in the above ways. Further discussions on the programme will be taking place through our Board and through our Members meetings. Should you wish to discuss this further please do not hesitate to contact Jabien Kauser, in the first instance.
Regards,
David Knight
Chair, Lancashire BME Pact
Grass Roots Funding Opportunity
The Grassroots Grants programme is designed to respond to local issues, improve organisational capacity and help support the diverse needs of communities. It is still running and able to support projects that meet its eligibility criteria so any member group with a suitable proposal should consider putting in an application as soon as possible.
The programme is funded by the Office of the Third Sector and administered by the Community Foundation for Lancashire. Grant applications should show how funding will help groups' support activities and services and should follow the relevant guidelines, which can be downloaded here as a Word document. (File size: 189k.) An application form can be downloaded here, also as a Word document. (File size: 293k.)
The Lancashire Gujarat Health Users Forum has announced its 2009 programme of health seminars, all of which will be held at the GHS Centre in Preston. The seminars are each an hour long and hosted by medical experts. They address important subjects such as pain management, vitamin deficiency and breast cancer awareness. Details of the 2009 programme can be found on the LGHUF website. (Link opens in a new window.)
Lancashire Officer wins Asian Achievers Award
PC
Mebs Ahmed was recently honoured at the Asian Achievers Awards ceremony.
This took place in London on Wednesday 3rd December.
Mebs, who is Chair of Lancashire Constabulary’s Black Police Association and a key worker within the force’s Diversity and Community Cohesion Department, was given the award in the uniform and civil service category for his outstanding contribution to public services.
Mebs was nominated for his commitment to the recruitment, retention and progression of black and ethnic minority staff in Lancashire. Hosted by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar and supported by the Prime Minister, the 8th annual Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) attracted several hundred nominations from across the country, all acknowledging the success of British Asians.
Mebs’ award was presented by chief guest Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools And Families.
Supt. Bob Eastwood, Head of Diversity and Community Cohesion said: “I am personally very proud of Mebs and he is a credit to both the Constabulary and police service as whole. The award is richly deserved; he has done some fantastic work to benefit the local community. It is tremendously satisfying to see all his efforts being recognised, both as an officer and through his tireless commitment to the Black Police Association.
Mebs, 52, who lives with his wife in Hutton, Preston
has worked for Lancashire Constabulary for 19 years. He spent the first
ten years of his career as a uniformed officer in Fulwood before moving
to headquarters where he spearheaded the recruitment of black, minority
ethnic staff over nine years. He has been chair of the Black Police Association
for five years, a role he now performs full-time.
Mebs said: “I am delighted with this unexpected reward. I joined
the police to try and make a difference and I am pleased that my work
is being recognised in this way.”
Vice Chair of the Black Police Association, Detective Chief Inspector Justin Srivastava added: “On behalf of Lancashire Black Police Association I would like to say that this is a well earned and highly deserved award for Mebs and I hope it will encourage other officers and staff as well as community members to see him as a role model and to follow his lead in making a difference.”
Mebs Ahmed is a Board Member for the Lancashire BME Pact, representing member organisation the Lancashire Black Police Association.
The
Gujarat Hindu Society celebrated Navratri between the 30th September and
8th October 2008 prior to the Diwali celebrations on 9th November at Preston
Mandir.
Navratri is a Hindu festival of worship and dance. The word Navratri literally means "nine nights" in Sanskrit; Nava - Nine and Ratri - nights. It falls during the first nine days of the month Asoo (Ashvij) (September-October). Each night marks different manifestations of the Mother Goddess: Uma, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali, Chamunda, Amba, Durga, Bhuvaneshwari and Khodiar.
During Navratri, the devotees fast and pay homage to Goddess Shakti – the manifestation of energy in her nine forms. At the GHS Centre, there was worship, dance and music all the nine days. Garba dance is performed to worship the goddess. Men, women and children, young and old join to enjoy the dance in which everyone is traditionally dressed in vibrant coloured outfits. Associated with Garba is a Dandiya Ras - a dance with two sticks which has unique steps and body movements. Everyone joins and enjoys this graceful dance.
For further details about events and festivals at the GHS Centre, please contact Ms. Abhinandana. M.K, Centre Manager, Gujarat Hindu Society on 01772-253912 or email ghsenterprise@hotmail.com.
The Lancashire BME Pact has applied for funding through the Big Lottery Fund's BASIS programme, which aims to ensure that voluntary and community organisations throughout England have access to high quality support that will help them be more effective. In round one BLF awarded £101 million to 206 voluntary and community sector infrastructure organisations across England. BLF expect to award up to £151 million in round two.
The Lancashire VCFS Consortium has formed a co-ordination group to ensure that Lancashire pulls in funding for the 4 Lancashire priorities identified. Meetings are taking place with all the prospective bid leaders and partners to ensure a strategic delivery of the priorities and establish partnerships to submit the bid.
Successful Foundations is a capacity building project supporting the development of the Lancashire BME Pact (LBME) Pact and providing support to LBME Pact members and the BME voluntary community and faith sector across Lancashire, including the Unitary Authorities of Blackburn and Blackpool.
The overall aim of the project is to support and develop the structures, partnerships and LBME Pact members to maximise communication and share good practice across Lancashire, improving representation of the views of BME VCS organisations, and through them the wider BME community.
BASIS will support the expansion of the LBME Pact staff team allowing a broader range of capacity building support to be offered to the sector and LBME Pact members. This will include:
- Providing greater representation for LBME Pact members across the region and sub-region through a dedicated communications function.
- A concentration on a broadening and deepening of the LBME Pact membership; not merely a concentration on “numbers” (although we expect to see membership rise to 70) with a focus on the quality of members, with emphasis on networks of networks and facilitating and supporting the members properly and ensuring a geographical and cultural coverage of Lancashire amongst the members.
- Improved outreach services with specialist staff working to improve the governance and internal control structures of the LBME Pact members.
- Additional support to focus on sustainability and long-term viability.
- Through linking with other existing services and BASIS projects training and capacity building support will be able to be targeted on harder to reach BME communities. Where necessary the LBME Pact will fund additional activity that cannot be provided from elsewhere.
We propose an expanded team – from 2 half-time to 4.5 full-time staff with a LBME Pact Manager taking overall responsibility for LBME Pact and leading on representation, communication and good practice; 2 Outreach/Development Workers; 1 with responsibility for member marketing and development – assisting with fundraising, development plans etc; the other responsible for governance and systems development – making sure groups are “fit for funding”; supported by an additional full-time Administrator to co-ordinate and support the project.
An intrinsic part of all activity, representation and communication will be the sharing of good practice and information internally and externally with LBME Pact membership and other stakeholders and partners.
A baseline assessment has been produced which supports the application. A copy can be downloaded here as a PDF (file size: 276k).
The BME Pact is pleased to announce the appointment of Mohammad Rafique Malik from the Jinnah group as its newest board member. You can find the complete list of board members here.
The membership of the Lancashire BME Pact expanded further this summer, with the arrival of the following organisations.
Parasol - an organisation that helps incoming families from Poland and Eastern Europe - and Building Bridges Burnley, which promotes diversity and mutual understanding between people of different faiths. Both organisations are very welcome as the latest members of the Lancashire BME Pact, and more information about them can be found on our Members page.
The Lancashire BME Pact is pleased to announce that Professor Romesh Gupta has been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. Professor Gupta works on the steering committee for the Lancashire Gujarat Health Users' Forum and is a consultant physician and hospital lead for Stroke Services at Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Heartiest congratulations to Prof. Gupta and his family. The OBE was presented "for services to medicine and the community in Lancashire."
Southfield Community Action Forum (SCAF) is currently
in the process of setting up a mentoring project throughout Pendle aimed
at young adults between the ages of 14-21 from all backgrounds. It is
currently looking for volunteer mentors. So:
* Do you want to make a difference to YOUR community?
* Are you a good listener?
* Wanting to expand your own skills?
* Gain valuable experience?
* Achieve job satisfaction?
If you can answer yes to any of the above, please contact either Zafar
Iqbal or Paul McGladdery from the Mentoring project at SCAF. Telephone
01282 618686 or e-mail scaf.pendle@yahoo.co.uk.
Opening of Awaz Pendle Community Radio, ICT and Media Centre
On 22nd October, His Eminence Shaykh ul Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri presided over the official opening of Awaz Pendle Community Radio and its new ICT and Media Centre.
In the short time that Pendle Community Radio has been on air, it has already involved itself in many important local projects including more than £400,000 of charity fund-raising activities and an environmental clean-up in the Marsden, Walverden and Cloverhill areas of Pendle. Its audience numbers are growing steadily and the BME Pact would like to wish the station every continuing success.
Nominated by the American Biographical Institute as one of the World's leading intellectuals, Dr Tahir Ul Qadri conducted the opening at Carr Road in Nelson.
Issue 6 of the BME Pact Newsletter Now Available
Issue 6 of the Lancashire BME Pact newsletter is now available. It contains details of recent developments, information about staff changes and our expanding membership. It also provides details from the Lancashire Mental Health and Social Care Partnership Board and lists timetables for BME pact events, training sessions and the dates of Pact meetings over the coming months.
You can download the newsletter here. (PDF format - file size 835K.) If you have a slow internet connection or would prefer a printed copy, please contact us and we will be happy to send you one.
Publicly Funded Support Projects
On 4th September, members of the BME Pact attended a short seminar at the GHS Centre in Preston to hear about three publicly funded programmes that can offer eligible members free support with a range of cost saving activities and advice.
All funded by the EU's European Regional Development Fund, the projects can help registered charities, social enterprises and small / medium sized businesses in areas of Lancashire that are eligible for Objective 2 funding. In practice, this means certain parts of Preston, Lancaster, Wyre, Skelmersdale and East Lancashire. (Members that are unsure of their eligibility can test it by entering their postcode into a free on-line checker, which can be found here.)
The event began with an overview of the University of Central Lancashire's (UCLan) PIKE project, which enables organisations to develop sustainable solutions to issues of crime and disorder.The project can provide free information and support; analyse the impact of crime and disorder on local communities; develop and advise on suitable, sustainable responses to crime and disorder issues; and organise workshops, seminars and networking opportunities for organisations of all kinds to explore the issues of crime and to disseminate examples of good practice. More information can be found on the project website - www.pikenorthwest.co.uk or by e-mailing the PIKE office: PIKEproject@uclan.ac.uk.
Next, Alasdair Dalzel-Job of UCLan's North West Centre for Waste Management project explained the various services that are freely available through the programme and invited eligible members to contact the centre to request a free site survey. Through such visits, university advisors can help members to identify opportunities to make substantial savings on waste, water and energy costs - often by adopting measures that cost little or nothing to implement.
The original Centre for Waste Management project ran between 2004 and 2006 and saved Lancashire based organisations in excess of £3 million in the first two years alone. The new project builds on its success; the service includes the provision of a free report and action plan, detailing cost effective ways of making savings. More information can be found on the project website - www.cwm-nw.org.uk or by e-mailing the Centre: wasteinfo@uclan.ac.uk.
Finally, Ian Buckle, an environmental advisor working for the not-for-profit support organisation Nimtech, described the work and objectives of Blackpool Council's Resource Efficiency Centre, which can provide free advice, surveys and recommendations about energy efficiency and other forms of resource use. The project operates in North and Western Lancashire and provides participating organisations with individually tailored recommendations for reducing costs and improving environmental sustainability. It can also provide a free survey to identify the scope for making savings by introducing additional forms of draught-proofing and insulation in lofts and cavity walls. More information can be found on the project website - www.efficiency-centre.org.uk or by calling Nimtech on 01925 273270.
Both the Resource Efficiency Centre and the North West Centre for Waste Management programme are supported by an environmental award certificate that demonstrates to visitors, customers and funding bodies that the holder has made significant efforts to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. Members that succefully implement an environmental action plan will receive a certificate and are entitled to free PR support to obtain valuable publicity in local newspapers and other media.
BME Pact members looking to reduce their running costs are encouraged to check their eligibility for support and, where appropriate, to contact the relevant project staff with a request to organise a free site visit and action plan.
The NW-CWM presentation can be viewed / downloaded here. (PowerPoint file - 1.28MB.)
The Resource Efficiency Centre presentation can be viewed / downloaded here. (PowerPoint file - 245KB.)
Train the Trainer Awards Presentation
Congratulations
to all the learners who successfully completed the Train the Trainer Training.
A selection of these learners attended an awards presentation at Springhill
Community Centre on Tuesday 7th August, when they received their certificates.
The Train the Trainer course was offered and delivered across Lancashire.
A number of learners have since started delivering training within their own voluntary organisations and have benefited from the training that was delivered, using their new skills to good effect. Thanks are due to our member organisations who have supported us throughout the project. The BME Pact would like to give a special thank you to:
- Lancashire Learning Consortium for funding the project and supporting us throughout the project.
- East Lancashire Adult Learning for providing the Information, Advice & Guidance sessions.
- Voise Northwest & Bootstrap Enterprises for delivering the training.
The awards presentation event was supported by: Anita Holt and Roy Hopwood - Lancashire Learning Consortium; Anne Sturzaker - Assistant Principal East Lancashire Adult Learning; Claire Tindall - Training Consultant Bootstrap, Management Board Lancashire Wide Network and Lancashire BME Pact and of course, the learners themselves. These included:Khalid Naseem (currently working for Blackburn with Darwen CVS Volunteer Centre as an Inclusive Volunteer Officer); Debbie Creasey (Lancashire Wide Network for Minority Ethnic Women volunteer); Shazia Rafique (community group volunteer); Nargis Ghafur (now planning to complete the City & Guilds Level 3 7318 and level 2 Numeracy & Literacy); and Asma Hussain (volunteer for the Lancashire Wide Network and Lancashire BME Pact).
Training Available for Women Leaders
(Building Capacity & Leadership Skills of Women 2007 -08)
In recognising the important role that women have in community development, Lancashire County Council is piloting a training package to provide the opportunity for Muslim Women to strengthen their leadership skills in building cohesion in their community. 12 applicants have been recruited from new or emerging women’s groups in East Lancashire and Preston districts. The training will run between October 2007 and February 2008 with a presentation event at the end of the course at County Hall, Preston for participants and their families to celebrate their success.
Public Sector Recruitment Event - 27th June, Burnley
On 27th June 2007, the BME Pact and various public sector partners hosted a recruitment event designed to inform people from BME communities about the career opportunities and current vacancies within the region's local authorities.
Taking part were Lancashire County Council, Burnley Borough Council and Job Centre Plus, all of whom are keen to see better representation of minority ethnic groups within the public sector workforce.
The event took place at the the Stoneyholme and Daneshouse Youth & Community Centre in Burnley.
A PDF poster (file size 351k) can be downloaded here.
North West E-Net Limited Joins BME Pact
The BME Pact's newest member is North West E-Net Limited, an organisation committed to providing quality employment and training opportunities for people with disabilities. It is itself a regional network with many members, details of which can be found on its website. The Pact welcomes E-Net and looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.
New Board Members Appointed at AGM
On 23rd May 2007, the BME Pact held its annual general meeting and elected three new members. The board now comprises:
Existing Members:
David Knight (Chair) - Nguzo Saba Centre Ltd
Ishwer Tailor (Company Secretary) - Gujarat Hindu Society
Amina Iqbal - HAWA
Nisha Patel - Pukar Disability Resource Centre
Rehmat Hasham (Vice Chair) - Kutchi Women’s Group
Parvinder Sohal (Treasurer) - LWNMEW
Saeeda Farooq - AAWAZ
Mebs Ahmed - Lancashire Black Police Association
New Members:
Neelam Mahmood - Hyndburn Cultural Association
Anayat Mohammad - Co-opted Public Sector Member
Touqir Ahmed Khan - Pendle Pakistan Welfare Association
The BME Pact would like to welcome its new board members and would also like to point out that there are still three vacancies on the board. Anyone who would like to put themselves forward should contact the chairman via the Pact offices.
Ithaad Community Development Trust and other partners are organising a ten day programme of outdoor events in the Pendle area. It is designed to give housebound women the chance to explore stunning areas of unspoilt countryside and tourist attractions in Pendle. More details can be found on our Events page.
On
24th March 2007, the Gujarat Hindu Society held its annual Health Mela
in association with Central Lancashire NHS Primary Care Trust. At the
event, a broad spectrum of health care providers supplied information,
support and advice about subjects as diverse as diabetes, alternative
medicine and road safety.
The aims and objectives of the Health Mela are to improve health awareness and promote various health related issues amongst the local population of Lancashire and in particular the ethnic minorities living in Preston and surrounding areas.
"The Health Mela is a blueprint for NHS professionals across the UK," said Professor Romesh Gupta, Chairman of the Lancashire Gujarat Health Users Forum and a Consultant at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. "It demonstrates how to engage effectively with minority communities that traditionally don't access services, either because of a reluctance to talk about their health or because of fear. I am proud to say that the Health Mela is now in its sixth year and its success locally at raising health awareness among people from all communities has attracted national interest."
The event, which attracted upwards of 800 visitors, was held at the GHS Centre on South Meadow Lane in Preston.
Official Opening of BME Pact's New Offices
On
20th November, the Mayor of Hyndburn Cllr Mohammed Rahman conducted the
formal opening of the Lancashire BME Pact's new offices at the Springhill
Community Centre on Exchange Street in Accrington.
The opening, which began at 6pm, was part of a special celebratory evening and was very well attended by guests and members from across the county. Among the notable guests were the leader of Lancashire County Council, Cllr Hazel Harding and Cllr Doreen Pollitt.
Hosted by David Knight, the chair of the BME Pact, and Parvinder Sohal, the chair of the Lancashire Wide Network for Minority Ethnic Women, the event included live singing and dance, and featured an explanation by Nagina Ali of the BME Pact's role, objectives and recent achievements. Nagina also explained the collaboration that was taking place between the BME Pact and the Lancashire Wide Network for Minority Ethnic Women, which shares the same offices.
Cllr
Hazel Harding praised the work of the Pact and said that its existence
made it much easier for the County Council to engage with minority ethnic
groups and to reflect their needs in both policy making and service delivery.
She said that she was proud to have played a part in helping the organisation
to become the popular, thriving and well respected body that it is today,
and expressed the hope that it would continue to grow over the coming
years.
After a session in which members of the BME Pact gave their views of the benefits of being part of the organisation, company secretary Ishwer Tailor gave a closing speech in which he gave credit to the many volunteers and staff who had helped the Pact to achieve its current status. He noted that there were still areas of the county that had relatively little representation within the organisation but felt that the current momentum would ensure that this situation would soon be rectified. He also thanked Lancashire County Council for its valuable and continued support, without which much of the Pact's achievements would not have been realised.
Finally, after a vote of thanks from David Knight and Parvinder Sohal, guests were invited to have food and to meet with and chat with other members. Parvinder noted that this networking element of the event was every bit as important as the more formal session that preceded it and she expressed the hope that people would use it to find new ways of co-operating and building ever stronger community links.
The Lancashire BME Pact would like to wish everyone a very happy Eid and Diwali. Celebratory events are being organised at Accrington Town Hall, the Gujarat Hindu Society in Preston and other locations across the county. Please see our Events page for more details.
The
Gujarat Muslim Welfare Society is over three years old and its objectives
are to promote community cohesion and integration, to raise awareness
of cultural and tradition, to promote social inclusion and to break down
exclusion the barriers of misinterpretation that prevail in the mainstream
community.
On 2nd June 2006, the Society organised a very successful community cohesion social event at the Catherine Beckett Community Centre in Preston. 18 guest speakers were invited, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Preston, the Chief Executive of Preston City Council, two members of the House of Lords, the Deputy Lieutenant of Yorkshire, County and City Councillors, police representatives and leaders of the diverse community.
Pictured on the front row (left to right): Poet Harun Patel; Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel; Lady Yashmin Patel; Secretary Mr I Member. The audience also included County Councillors Mr Vallibhai Patel, Mr Yakub Patel and the Chief Executive of Local REC, Mr Faruk Desai and Chair Mahmud Amirat.
The Lancashire BME Pact is pleased to announce that it has been joined by Preston Faith Forum. Currently based at West Strand, the organisation exists to improve the lives of the citizens of the city by fostering inter-faith dialogue, understanding, co-operation and joint working on a range of social, economic and environmental issues.
The
Lancashire Gujarat Health Users Forum's annual Health Mela took place
on 8th April at the GHS Centre in Preston.
As ever, the event was completely free of charge and was attended by health professionals from many different organisations and disciplines.
This year's Health Mela was opened by Professor Sir Graeme Catto, President of the General Medical Council. The event is supported by Preston NHS Primary Care Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Some of the many interesting events on offer included:
- Healthy eating (with cooking demonstrations)
- Healthy exercise workshops
- Free checks on blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure
- Holistic living workshops and much, much more...
More details about the event can be found on the Lancashire Gujarat Health Forum website.
'Change Up' Programme Assistance
The
Pact is a member of the Lancashire Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector
Consortium (LCVFS) which has been awarded £1.3 million of government
money to build the capacity of infrastructure organisations via the ‘Change
Up’ programme. The LCVFS is a leading member of the Lancashire Learning
Consortium, which will deliver 300 new, qualified trainers in communities
across Lancashire.
The Consortium is now at an exciting stage of development as it begins to implement its Investment Plan. May BME Pact members have been involved in the development of the Local Infrastructure Action Plans (LIAPs) which have been produced by a range of partners, working collaboratively to map out the needs of the VCFS around ‘Hub’ areas. In addition to this, the Consortium is working hard to deliver the LSC Capacity Building Programme in partnership with East Lancashire and West Lancashire Learning Partnerships and Lancashire County Council. This will improve the training capacity of many VCFS organisations and provide new learning opportunities for people.
A conference about the Change Up programme will be held in Lancaster on on 27th February. For more details, please see our Events page.
Kutchi Women's Group Joins BME Pact, November 2005
November saw the launch of the Kutchi Women's Grroup's new website, the creation of which coincided with the Group joining the BME Pact. The Group's purpose is to improve the health, social well being and general development of women and their families, particularly in the Blackburn area. It performs a range of functions including the organisation of training and the arrangement of social, spiritual and religious gatherings to stimulate community cohesion. Contact details can be found on our Members page.
Preston Hobbies Fair, 18th September 2005
On September 18th, the GHS Centre on South Meadow Lane in Preston hosted the 2005 Preston Hobbies Fair - a festival of activities for people of all ages. There were demonstrations of various hobbies and pursuits such as dancing, indian crafts and aikido. Hobby clubs also attended and provided information for potential new members. Further details can be found on our Events page.
New Member in Pendle, July 2005
The BME Pact is pleased to welcome Building Bridges Pendle to its list of members. The organisation seeks to bring the diverse communities of Pendle towards a better understanding of one another's race, religion and culture. Contact details can be found here.
"Joining the Dots" Event - Wigan, 16th May
"Joining the Dots - Learning and Skills in the North West" was a regional event designed to identify ways in which the voluntary and community sectors (both as training organisations and employers) and Learning & Skills / Sector Skills Councils can work better together.
Hosted by Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW), the event was held between 10.00 and 4.00 pm on Monday 16th May at Wigan Investment Centre, Waterside Drive in Wigan.
The event was designed for anyone who:
- is engaged in the development or planning of learning and skills for an organisation, either as a learning provider or an employer;
- works for the LSC, DfES, Business Link or Adult & Community Learning and has an interest in the voluntary and community sector;
- is a Sector Skills Council with a voluntary sector workforce.
Workshop topics included:
- Working Together
- Workforce Development
- Skills for Life
- Learning Consortia
- BME Capacity Building
- Communicating and Influencing
- Sector Skills Councils
For further information, please contact Margaret McLeod on 0161 276 9303.
The
BME Pact's second Cultural Evening took place on Sunday 20th March 2005
at the Globe Centre in Accrington.
This event marked the culmination of the BME Pact's programme of Adult Learning and was intended to celebrate its successes in increasing the awareness and capacity of the BME communities in Lancashire.
Featuring dance acts and a series of presentations, the event also included an awards ceremony to acknowledge the help and contributions of all the BME Pact's members.
You can read more about the evening on our Events page.
Adult Learning Seminar Programme Now Complete
All three of the Lancashire BME Pact's adult learning seminars have now taken place, bringing news and valuable information about educational opportunities to nearly 200 individuals and members organisations throughout the county.
You can read more about these seminars on our Events page.
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BME Pact, a company limited by guarantee. Co. reg. no. 4865661. Lancashire BME Pact is a Registered Charity No: 1136057. |